Council Going Paperless With Tablet Donation

If the Morris School District can jump into the tablet craze, why can't the town? While Frelinghuysen Middle School students this year began learning on Apple's iPad, the town tablets are coming from one of that computer powerhouse's most fiercest competitors.

Paul Miller, with the town's Office of Sustainability announced Tuesday that seven of 10 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablets have arrived and will be given to the Town Council.

The tablets, estimated in value of about $500 each, were donated at no cost to the town by Samsung, who Miller noted has worked with his Sustainable Morristown in the past—most recently loaning computers for use during a public "Creative Morristown" brainstorming event at the Hyatt.

The main, most obvious benefit for the council to use the tablets will be the cost and environmental savings from not using "reams and reams of paper," Miller said.

Abby Ray, a local blogger and environmental activist, was the Samsung representative at the council meeting. "We're proud to support Morristown," she told the council.

While the council tablets will only be usable with a wifi connection, the additional tablets Miller said should arrive within the next couple months are envisioned for field use. Those 3G-enabled tablets could be used by public works employees, for example, to grab information from Town Hall while on the road, or to send information back without having to go there.

This isn't the first time the idea of going paperless has come out in Town Council. Prior to the tablet donation, councilwoman Allison Deeb had been working with Edison Township, which has gone paperless, to figure out if their system would work for Morristown.

Mayor Tim Dougherty publicly acknowledged Deeb's pioneering effort. "We're happy we could start the process," he said.

Miller said he hoped the tablets could be fully implemented shortly after the new year.